Commercial real estate is viewed as pretty solid ground for those in the know: over half of commercial real estate executives view their respective market segments as “strong” or “very strong”, according to the newly released 2016 Commercial Real Estate Outlook study. The survey, commissioned by CIT and conducted by Forbes Insights, polled over 200 senior-level commercial real estate executives.

While commercial real estate continues to be a solid investment and less prone to the relative volatility of the residential real estate market, the executives polled were frank about potential challenges: they cited fluctuations in the market and government policies as potential issues that could affect the viability of deals.

The outlook on liquidity is duly noted: of particular interest is the outlook on liquidity. The majority state that adequate funding is available for investment projects, and over half state that they are lengthening the duration of their financing terms in order to secure the historically low rates available in the market for an extended period. At Venture Mortgage, we see this same sentiment reflected in the desires and actions of our clients, many of whom are choosing to secure loans from our life company lending partners. Life companies are offering long-term (up to 20 years), competitive fixed-rate loans for a variety of property types in primary, secondary, and even tertiary markets.